which console is the most reliable... which is the worst.

[(-_-)]

I think I've just been lucky with sony. Both my ps1 and ps2 have been moved around, jostled, and dropped a lot and both work perfectly. Both are modded and will play anything. I have friends who've had their systems modded and will only play games if they are on certain discs. Mine has yet to fail at reading a disc. Haven't had any other console nearly as long as either of them and the only console to give me any real problems, was the nes...

[Niode]

Surprised more aren't saying Xbox 360, considering the enormous fail rate (http://kotaku.com/5339555/report-xbox-3 ... 50-percent) and the fact that it hasn't even been around for four years yet. I'd imagine by their seventh year, the fail rate becomes 100%.

That's out of 5,000 people who read game informer. That's not 54% chance of getting a duff console. I've had my 360 since launch and never had a problem with it. It's well ventilated and isn't kept in a media centre. The key to keeping 360's running is not putting them in a media centre, no matter how roomy or well ventilated you think it is. I have literally litres of space around my 360, it's completely separated from all my other consoles and away from the heat generated by my plasma.

If I see another person claim that they kept their 360 in a well ventilated spot that is only 1" larger than the 360 itself I'm gonna rage. You wouldn't stick a PC in a tiny spot with only a 1" gap all around it, so why would you put a 360 in the same situation?

I forgot to mention my most reliable console. Probably xbox. Never had a problem with it since I bought it. My N64 worked very reliably but sometimes it would be a bit funny and just black screen until I unplugged it and left it for 30 minutes. Never had a problem with my Mega Drive and/or Mega CD.

My most durable console would have to have been my old grey brick Gameboy. I dropped that thing out of a car moving at 30mph and it still survived. The screen popped off but I just clicked it back in and resumed playing. Yes, the game kept playing uninterrupted despite being dropped out of a moving car. Now that's durability!

[the7k]

Out of all of my friends with 360s, only one hasn't felt the sting of the red ring, and at least 3 have felt it more than once. Doesn't bod well with me, honestly - especially considering I'd like the system to last as long as the rest of my consoles have.

Plus, ya know - Microsoft knew about it. http://gizmodo.com/5046314/the-shocking ... -xbox-360s

I mean, c'mon. I know the system is great an' all from a software standpoint... but when it comes to hardware, holy crap.

[RCBH928]

I think the most reliable thing is original Gameboy, everyone agrees.

360 must be the worst console, it has to be. My friends and I bought 3 consoles together, and there was 1 of us who bought it earlier. That makes a total of four.

The whole four failed and were replaced by either buying a new one or sending it to Microsoft(given where I am had a cost of like $80). I am not sure how such a bad hardware can be so successful, its hard to believe it was even released.

Some of you complained about ps2's, but does that include(all manufacturers in general) the later slim ones? I hear by the end of their time the consoles(and about every other product) is best after fixing all its problems. PSX with the 9000 for example. I want psx but all of your input about ps/ps2 it scaring me.

The other thing is you should keep in mind how do you use your systems. A lot of you say that my console broke up after 4 years, well do you keep it on all the time? Have you played like a 1000 games? It depends , how much use you got out of it, right?

I am also amazed that you would say Sony builds bad products. I thought Sony was a quality brand. Isn't that why they cost a little bit more? I honestly do not know a better electronics brand.

[billberth]

I'm surprise that no one said Neo Geo... It seem to be very well constructed.

Which is the most reliable MVS or AES?

[d123456]

reliable is not that important.
It's all about games.
360 is not so reliable, but perhaps because people actualy play that system alot!

[Bootaaay]

Pfft, playing it alot is not a reasonable excuse for console failure - I played my Xbox alot, but it never broke, whereas i'm on my 4th 360 despite playing the PS3 more

[Niode]

Some of you complained about ps2's, but does that include(all manufacturers in general) the later slim ones? I hear by the end of their time the consoles(and about every other product) is best after fixing all its problems. PSX with the 9000 for example. I want psx but all of your input about ps/ps2 it scaring me.

The early slims suffered from overeating as well as the same DRE issues the fat PS2s had. The latest model is the most reliable but it's not soft-modable.

I am also amazed that you would say Sony builds bad products. I thought Sony was a quality brand. Isn't that why they cost a little bit more? I honestly do not know a better electronics brand.

As I said in my earlier post I've never had one single Sony product that has been worth my money. The brand sucks as a whole, they charge a premium because of the name yet they are no better than anything else. Don't even get me started on their HDTV's. I don't have hardware problems since I stopped buying Sony crap.

[Limewater]

Sometime about ten years ago, I was out for a run and found an NES just lying in a gutter. I took it home and it worked fine. I replaced the 72-pin connector earlier this year, but that's the one I use regularly. I do have one or two more, though, I guess as a backup.

Many people have said that the original gameboy is very durable. I tend to agree, since there are so many stories of them being in explosions, getting dropped out of planes, etc... and still working fine.

I got it used, but my Dreamcast is starting to get a little questionable. Also, I'm starting to worry about my VMU, just because those things can only be written so many times.

I've still never played a 360, but I hear enough horror stories to say that it has to be down there pretty far in terms of reliability.

[ejamer]

The whole four failed and were replaced by either buying a new one or sending it to Microsoft(given where I am had a cost of like $80). I am not sure how such a bad hardware can be so successful, its hard to believe it was even released.

The hardware sucks, but Microsoft got a lot of things right too. Low entry price. First to market. Tons of great games supporting the system. An extended warranty that provides most people with good replacement service... In the end I think the good/bad balances out for most people (although I'm still not willing to buy a console that I would expect to fail).

Some of you complained about ps2's, but does that include(all manufacturers in general) the later slim ones?

Don't be scared - the early PS/PS2 models were quite bad and would fail often... but later revisions fixed many of the problems and I'd say that anything you buy now would be pretty solid. It's just a shame that early adopters get punished by having much higher failure rates.

I am also amazed that you would say Sony builds bad products. I thought Sony was a quality brand. Isn't that why they cost a little bit more? I honestly do not know a better electronics brand.

I used to like Sony products quite a bit... but years of experience have taught me that you end up paying more for the brand name and aesthetic appeal than for quality. While some high-end Sony stuff can still be pretty cool, a lot of their consumer electronics just aren't worth the asking price. (Specifically: computers and cameras and audio/video equipment.)

Good alternative brands will depend on what type of product you are looking for, but the best choice is to research and compare similar items from several companies before choosing instead being loyal to any one particular brand. Even good companies make bad products sometimes (and vice versa).